Braves learn valuable lesson

Times Reporter 

 

After the Lethbridge Hurricanes Red took a 3-0 lead on Dec. 15 in Strathmore, the AA Wheatland peewee Braves tied it up with goals by Tarun Fizer, Kyle Crnkovic, and Eric Sandum. However, near the end of the second, Lethbridge scored on the powerplay and never looked back. The Braves lost 5-3, and are now 8-10-2.

“I could tell from the first shift that we weren’t ready to do our best. We had a poor effort all day,” Keith Klemmensen coach of the Braves said. “When we tied it up 3-3, I told the boys on the bench, be careful because we’re not earning this. We got a couple breaks from the officiating.”

The referees allowed the Braves’ first goal, though it looked as though the Lethbridge goaltender had covered the puck. Lethbridge also had some of their goals disallowed.

“The score really flattered us, there’s no way we were 5-3 with them. Again, our goaltender had to do too much of the work,” Klemmensen said.

Wheatland’s goalie Ethan Rycroft stopped 38 of 43 shots. The Braves only managed to get 23 on net.

“It went from bad to worse. We just didn’t have a good effort all day; defensemen were making very poor choices with the puck, and we weren’t moving our feet,” Klemmensen said. 

“At the end of the day, they have to decide to come to work and compete 100 per cent. Until they do that, there’s really not a whole bunch that anybody’s going to be able to tell them. They might have tuned me out.”

The Braves have their next game in Hussar against Red Deer on Dec. 20

 

Warriors keep rolling

The bantam Warriors defeated the Taber Golden Suns on Dec. 14 by a score of 5-2, with both of Taber’s goals coming on the man advantage. Wacy Sandum and Ryan Bell had two points each; Chayse Hnatowich had two goals and an assist. The Warriors are leading the bantam league standings with a 19-1 record. Their success comes from having 124 goals for, but only 37 goals against. They play the Okotoks Oilers in Strathmore on Dec. 20.

 

Chiefs split

The midget Wheatland Chiefs won 4-3 in Sylvan Lake on Dec. 13, by putting 40 shots on net. Cody Willis and Coltyn Herman scored two points each, and now have 33 and 32 respectively for the year. 

Two days later, the Chiefs dropped 8-3 to CRAA Gold at home. 

Each of the Chiefs’ goals (scored by Herman, Blair Roszell, and Jayse Wilson) were scored on the powerplay. Willis and Cody Lassiter had two assists each. Their next game is Dec. 21 versus the NWCAA Stamps.